upgraded duster alt, no gas gauge, coolant temp gauge, wipers, or dome light

Dash is installed-grounded to dash. I actually have an extra wire that I hooked to one of the screws on the back of the dash cluster to better ground it. The dash cluster lights work-so I was guessing that the gauges are grounded??
Im about ready to just rewire all the wires at the bulkhead and run them straight through that so there is no more problems. Just dont feel like making a huge mess under there.
For the wiper motor- I have the variable speed wipers. It could be the switch or the motor, just not sure on how to check to see. My electrical skills are right up there with me building a space shuttle-slim to none. My way of using a multimeter is to put it to the 12 volt setting and if the gauge moves-I have juice lol. Sad yes, but it works.
I will try and get a good clean at the bulk head and recheck my ground. Hoping that I can get the new ign switch in today and possibly a new starter relay. Starter relay=10 min, ign switch-all day with swearing lol, gotta get a steering wheel puller from a friend first. Plus, going to salvage yard to pick up a throttle cable for a V8 and the rear bumper guards from the Valiant V8 donor car. Not much body stuff left but it still has the green seats, 318 & tranny, and may still have the disc brake setup. This is the same car that I stripped the wiring and dash from.